August 22nd, 2008

How the media spins the facts to fit the story they want to write

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Author: Tom Giovanetti || Location: Lewisville, Texas, USA

This is a little outside of IPI's usual fare, but I couldn't help but note today's outstanding example of how the media write the story they want to write, regardless of the facts.

Today, an AP news headline, which was repeated on MSN, Yahoo, and other major news outlets, was Americans skip Labor Day trips as costs rise.

Here's how the story starts:

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - After missing out on summer vacations because of high fuel prices and a weakening economy, many Americans won't be going anywhere over the Labor Day weekend either.

The number of people traveling 50 miles or more will drop by 0.9 percent this Labor Day weekend compared with last year, the biggest drop in at least eight years, according to travel and auto group AAA.

Wait a minute, what was that statistic? The number of American travellers who plan to not travel this Labor Day weekend is, less than one percentage point?

Doesn't that mean that 99.1 percent of Americans who usually travel over Labor Day weekend plan to continue to do so despite higher gasoline prices?

Doesn't that mean that the real story is that the vast majority of Americans plan to travel over Labor Day weekend despite higher energy costs?

Isn't that the real story?

In fact, the real story is that Americans largely plan to do what they usually do, despite higher gas prices. But that isn't the story as AP sees it, because that isn't the story AP wanted to write.

Now, is this a big deal? It may not seem so, but you have to understand that the news media do this all the time. They write the story with the slant they want to write, regardless of whether it fits the actual facts or not. And most people, sheep-like, simply absorb the message the media want them to absorb, and don't think about it.